PSYCHEMAGIK: COMIC JOURNEYS
Dubbed ‘stars of the year’ in 2012 by MixMag or more brilliantly put as ‘fucking brilliant’ by DJ Mag, the UK-based duo Psychemagik is still going strong in 2015. After a period of touring across the world and mixes release, Dan and Tom are finally ready to unleash their first album upon the world. Fused talked to them about their music, comic journeys and packets of crisps.
Hi guys, can you introduce yourself to us?
We’re Psychemagik, cosmic travellers, musical Ambassadors and general dudes!
First of all, we want to know what you were doing before this interview – because we are essentially stalkers.
Sleeping! Now currently sat in bed with a cuppa!
It seems as though your music is not taking a clear stance, somewhere in between dancefloors, Brazilian beaches, and Buddhism temples. Was Psychemagik made to get crowds dancing or get them high?
Psychemagik was born through two peoples love of music. We come from different musical backgrounds and influences and bring different things to the table…its from these sources that we blend and warp genres and sounds to create our unique sonics.
Bossa Nova, funk, electronic… how would you describe your music with just one word?
Universal.
It seems to me that you favour live music to studio recording, your FaceBook and Twitter pages being constantly updated with new soulful, original, and transcendent mixes. Why is that so?
We have released a ton of studio recordings. Every time we approach a remix we treat it like an original piece rewriting all the music. We also released a single this year; Black Noir Schwarz on Cross Town rebels and more recently produced the music for the current Smirnoff commercial. In 2015 we are gonna be locking ourselves in the studio to finish our debut album.
The last record you released was called ‘Black Noir Schwarz’, does that make you polyglots?
Yes, Oui, Ja!
Talking about that, your track ‘Valley of Paradise’ is made of one of my childhood’s nursery rhymes ‘Le Carillon de Vendôme’. Where did you first hear it and where did the idea to introduce it in the song come from?
I first heard it on the track ‘Orleans’ from David Crosby’s solo LP called ‘If only I could remember my name’ which was one of those albums I used to get super stoned to when I was 18. When Tom and me first got together and were throwing about ideas, I played it to him and he loved it right away.
We sampled it that night and ‘Valley Of Paradise’ was born. Later on we added the orchestra and re-recorded the vocals. We took forever to clear the sample but finally we heard back from Crosby’s camp that he’d heard it and loved it, which blew our minds.
I believe you are off to Australia, how was your experience of playing there before?
It was good, but I was sick as dog for the first week. Man flu had hit hard!
We had a couple of banging nights and also played a couple of crappy venues too so hoping for a better time overall. Pretty excited by this Tour.
What is the best gig experience you ever had?
Two gigs are super close… One was in England at Wilderness Festival, closing on the Sunday in the valley. The vibe and atmosphere was just perfect. It went off!
The other was Shambala in Canada. The guys there really know how to throw a party. I played on the Pagoda Stage there in 2013 and the whole set up, stage, visuals, sound system and demented crowd are out of this world, it’s a true Dj’s dream to spin there.
What is the fundamental difference between European and American gigs?
If the settings are right I think there’s not much in it…people are up for partying. One main thing that does actually affect the floor is the licensing law. Booze gets shuts off at 2am in America and people want to drink and party so you do see a thinning on the dance floor after the bar closes which is a shame, but I mean, that’s the culture and always has been.
What record has had the biggest influence on both your music and you personally?
The first record that was ever bought for me when I was a baby, ‘My Very Favourite Nursery Rhyme Record’ by Tim Hart & Friends. Ha!
Sometimes to keep me entertained my Mum and Dad would play this record front to back, over and over. It wasn’t your normal nursery rhyme sound, it was mainly folk based but with some electro influences too. There’s even a Cosmic Disco version of “What Shall We Do With The Drunken Sailor” with full Giorgio Moroder style arps. I rediscovered the album a couple of years ago and it really is quite incredible to reference the sounds used to what I like and use in our productions these days, especially considering that I haven’t heard the record since I was a baby.
What about things that you listen to these days?
We listen to so much different music these days…you pretty much listed a bunch earlier. We are constantly influenced by the records we find while nugging and the sounds we are hearing from our peers.
I recently saw DVS1 close a techno party in LA – it was sick!!
What are you feeling right now?
We are getting back into techno a bit more now, but on the flip we are still collecting and love the Balearic sound.
Is there something in particular that pisses you off nowadays?
Crisp packets are getting smaller.
Finally, if you had something to say to people who are not familiar with your music, what would it be?
Soundcloud.com/psychemagik
Robin Cannone
